Siopao: (9/11/2016) I'm back with an update quicker than I thought! You guys just inspire me so much with your reviews that I can't keep you hanging. Plus, I got into the flow of writing so I continued with the momentum... even though I should be studying for an Ophthalmic Optics exam lol (for you who don't know, I'm in a doctorate program to be eye doctor/optometrist). I want to especially thank Mami, Maria, and my two anonymous Guests (wish I knew what to call you guys)! You guys keep me going, for real!
Disclaimer: I don't own Gals! or Ouran High School Host Club... sadly. And where the heck is Ouran season 2!? I'm getting old here!
The Space Between Two Worlds
Chapter VIII — A Torn Heart
"Be my girlfriend," Rei said. It wasn't quite a question yet it wasn't demanding, either— it sounded more like a plea. The words instantly hit Aya like a whiplash and she blinked hard to assure herself that the scene before her wasn't a whimsical dream. She wasn't even quite sure if she heard Rei correctly. For a few moments she didn't say anything and let what had just occurred process in her mind.
"Be... Be your..." Aya finally said. Her words trailed off as she suddenly was interrupted by a third person.
"Oi! Rei!" called out the new voice from a few feet past the koi pond. Aya's eyes shot up and saw Yuuya running over towards the pavilion. Rei, too, turned around to see his best friend in the distance. "There you are! Been looking all over for you!"
"What?" Rei asked, his voice hinting a bit of annoyance.
"Coach is looking for you! Something about this weekends' match!" Yuuya replied back, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice across the garden.
Rei gave a grunt and it was followed by an exasperated sigh. He ran his strong hand through his raven hair, causing Aya to all the more admire him. He was just too cool in her eyes.
"I'm sorry we couldn't eat our lunch together," he said rather apologetically, his hand now scratching the back of his neck.
"It's okay, it sounds important," Aya replied with an understanding smile on her graceful face. Rei could have sworn that she was an angel. "You should go."
"Okay, but... just think about it, alright?" Rei said, making Aya blush. She knew exactly what he was pertaining to. She nodded her head shyly, causing him to give his adored half-smirk.
"Come on Rei!" Yuuya called out, much to Rei's annoyance.
"Ja," he said to Aya, and he was off before she could even return the goodbye.
Aya watched him walk towards Yuuya, hands shoved in his pockets and strutting at a nonchalant pace that evidently made Yuuya even more impatient. Aya watched the two boys leave the vast courtyard, her mind in a haze from what had just transpired.
"Is... Is this real?" Aya asked herself as she took a seat on one of the benches under the pavilion. Not only had Rei expressed that he liked her but he had also asked her to be his girlfriend.
Admittedly, their time together had been short but there was no doubt in her mind that every second she was with him was pure bliss. Before coming to Ouran, all Aya had an eye for was her studies, her family, and her friends. Never had she paid attention to guys who admired her or a potential love life, no matter how much Ran and Miyuu pressed on about it. Heck, she didn't even pay attention to who the new hot celebrities were— this was evident, for she had not even realized that Rei was an up-and-coming model.
She didn't know how she ever lived without ever knowing Rei but, now, she knew she couldn't spend another normal day without him in her life.
"Ayaaa," two identical voices rang on either side of the brunette gal. "Earth to Aya!"
"E- Eh?" she chirped, suddenly snapping out of her reverie. She realized that she was dazing off while serving tea in the Host Club and knew that the situation could have definitely gotten a bit dangerous if she wasn't paying attention.
"What's gotten into you?" Kaoru asked, leaning an arm on one of her shoulders.
"You've been dazing off into space, weirdo commoner," Hikaru said, leaning an arm on her other shoulder. She wished they would be more considerate, seeing as she was carrying a whole tray of expensive imported teacups. The tiny cups were all empty seeing as the club session had just ended, nevertheless, it was still difficult to balance them all.
"S- Sorry," she stammered. "It was a long day."
"Is everything alright, Aya-san?" Haruhi naturally asked, being the most considerate Host. "You looked a bit distracted all afternoon."
"Really? Oh, y- yes! Everything's fine," Aya replied, turning pink. Was she truly being this obvious? She appreciated the concern coming from Haruhi but wished that the subject would be dropped. She didn't want the nosy and troublesome twins hearing about her situation.
"Are you sure?" Haruhi asked. "You always seem so reserved. You know you can tell us anything."
"Ne, Aya-chan, is it because you don't trust us?" Hunny-senpai asked with a pout.
"N- No! That's not it at all, senpai," Aya said, placing the tray down in an exasperated manner. She really would have liked it if they'd stop prying, even though she knew that their intentions were pure.
"What's this? Is Aya-hime troubled?" a flamboyant Tamaki entered the scene and immediately made Aya feel more self-conscious.
"No, senpai!" she replied a bit louder than she would have liked. She was beginning to get flustered. "I'm fine! Really!"
"Maybe it's stress?" Kyouya chimed in as he also entered the conversation. By now, there were absolutely no more guests in the music room. Aya was at least thankful for that factor in this most unwelcoming situation.
"That's not it, it's just—" she tried to say but was interrupted by the twins.
"Uh oh, looks like our scholarship student might fall behind," Hikaru snickered.
"Better teach her the ropes, Haruhi," Kaoru added, patting Haruhi's shoulder.
"No!" Aya yelped, feeling that she was at the end of her rope. Her face was flushed and she couldn't take it anymore. "It's just that Rei-kun asked me to be his girlfriend!" she accidentally blurted. Instantly, her eyes widened and she slapped her hands to her mouth, as if covering her lips tightly would take back what she had just said.
"Eh?" Haruhi mouthed.
"EEHHH!?" Tamaki, the twins, and Hunny echoed (but in a much more dramatic manner, of course). Kyoya simply pushed up his glasses as if he was not shocked by Aya's statement. Mori, who hadn't said a word to Aya all day, suddenly looked over with his eyebrows furrowed— it was a serious look that made Aya's heart constrict just a tiny bit.
"Y- You're Otohata's girlfriend?" Kaoru asked, eyed wide. "Hikaru and I went to middle school with him. He never showed interests in girls!"
"It's a miracle! A miracle!" Hikaru cheered, throwing his arms in the air. He was laughing and obviously very entertained by this all. "Even an emotionless ogre like that can learn to love!"
"Honestly, I was starting to think that he swung for the other team, if you know what I mean," Kaoru added, deep in thought.
"Wait— n- no! I didn't give him a reply yet," Aya cleared up, frantically trying to talk over the twins' jeers and laughter.
"Well, why not? Could it be that you don't you like Rei-kun?" Hunny asked innocently.
"I... I..." Aya stammered, the pink filling up her fair face completely. She didn't know if she felt comfortable answering this question in front of the whole Host Club. She was especially mindful of Mori, who had his back turned on the group with his arms crossed. Aya wondered what kind of expression he was wearing.
"Ah, let's not dive into Aya's personal business," Haruhi insisted once she saw how uncomfortable Aya had become. "It's none of our—"
"Yeah," a small grunt suddenly came from Mori's lips and everyone turned to gaze at him, in shock that he had actually spoken about the situation. "Stop."
"S- Senpai," Aya mouthed in a small whisper. However, Mori simply turned away once again and walked towards the music room's exit.
"What's up with Mori-senpai?" Hikaru asked. Kaoru instinctively looked towards Hunny-senpai, who just simply shrugged while holding his Usa-chan.
"Hmm," Haruhi hummed to herself, speculating a theory in her witty mind. "Could it be...?"
"What is it?" the twins asked, both equally curious and nosy as ever.
"Nothing, nothing," Haruhi brushed the thought away. Mori-senpai having a crush on Aya? It sounded plausible, yet Haruhi decided to keep the speculation to herself. Mori was very popular and she remembered hearing from Tamaki that he often got a weekly confession. Alas, Mori would always turn the girls down and send them off crying with heartbreak, even if he didn't mean for it to end up that way. He had a certain taste that the other girls couldn't fulfill.
To Haruhi, Aya seemed like a pure and hardworking girl whose sincere personality could complement Mori's rough edges. It wouldn't be surprising at all if Mori had indeed begun to fall for the sweet new transfer student. He was a simple man and Aya was exactly just that. She was quiet like him, yet reached out her kindness whenever she sought the opportunity. She was shy, yet bold to stand up for what was important to her. In Haruhi's mind, they were the perfect match.
"Ah, the time!" Aya stated as she glanced over at a clock by the door Mori had just exited through. She should have been home preparing dinner by this time. Her mother, who was a traveling doctor, was sent oversees for several weeks once again. Meanwhile, her father was a very inept cook and often relied on Aya times like these. She could imagine him attempting to put a meal together at the moment but very unsuccessfully for that matter. "Sorry guys, I've got to go! I'm way late for dinner!"
"But wait, we wanna ask more about that Otochi—" Hikaru began to say but was cut off by Aya who dashed off.
"There really is nothing more to say!" she said in a rush. "Ja! See you tomorrow!"
And, while grabbing her books from a nearby table, Aya left the music room just as briskly as Mori-senpai had done.
Aya ran down the halls, skipped down a vast set of marble stairs, and exited the building. She usually got home by train but needed to walk a small distance in order to reach the station. She cursed herself for allowing the time to slip past her— surely, her poor father would be wondering where she was by now. As much as she loathed the superficial materialism of the spoiled kids at Ouran, being a rich student with a personal driver would come in quite handy right now. She was panting and there was a layer of sweat on her forehead but she didn't care. She just wanted to get home.
"Almost there!" she panted as she turned a corner and began to see the train station; it was only a few dozen meters away. Then, her heart fell to the pit of her stomach as she saw the silver bullet train speed off from the platform. "N- No! Wait! Don't leave!"
She slowed down her running pace and cursed inwardly. She had just missed the one and only train in the area that would take her to her part of town; she lived rather far from Ouran and the next train wouldn't be coming around for another half-hour. She let out a loud sigh and rummaged through her bag, pulled out a pink handkerchief, and wiped the sweat from her face.
"If I hadn't stayed so long at the Host Club..." she whispered, "then I wouldn't have missed the train. Then I wouldn't have blurted out that Otohata asked me out." She then envisioned Mori-senpai's face as the topic of Rei came up. "Then I wouldn't have made senpai angry," she said sadly.
"Well, well, what have we got here?" a sudden voice shook Aya from her thoughts. She peered up and saw two guys standing before her with smug looks on their scary faces.
"With that uniform, looks like one of them rich Ouran girls," the other guy, a burly blonde, said rather hungrily.
"Missed the train, sweetie?" the taller brunette asked. "But why would a rich, pretty girl like you need to be taking the train?"
"Maybe her limo picked up the wrong rich kid," the blonde laughed. The two were walking closer and closer towards her and Aya stepped back until a wall behind her prevented her from taking any more.
"N- No, there must be some misunderstanding, I'm not—" Aya nervously began to say but the brunette had grabbed her chin with his thumb and index finger.
"You're a real pretty one," he said in his low voice. She heard the other guy snickering in the background. "You've got money too, right? Sounds like my type of girl."
"P- Please, stop," Aya pled, trying to pry herself from his hold. By this time, she had dropped everything that she was holding. "I'm telling you, I'm really not—"
"Let her go," a low, cool voice interjected.
"Eh? Who the hell are you?" the blond asked angrily.
Aya looked over and, for a minute, believed that it was Rei standing before her. However, after a moment more of looking, she realized who it really was and gasped with happiness and relief.
"M- Mori-senpai," she mouthed, feeling overjoyed at his appearance.
"Another rich kid, huh?" said the brunette guy who was holding onto Aya. "You want her, huh? Well, what's a spoiled brat like you going to do?"
"Tell you what, give us some cash and we'll hand her over," laughed the blonde.
"I said let her go," Mori repeated, still in his calm voice. There was a detectable edge to his usually complacent voice. "Final chance."
"Really? Not budging, eh?" said the brunette as he strengthened his hold on Aya, who cringed with pain. "Then neither will we."
"Too bad," muttered Mori, who swiftly took down the blonde and then the brunette immediately after. Aya had barely blinked and couldn't seem to believe how fast and efficiently Mori had taken down both of the perpetrators singlehandedly. It barely took him two swift movements to take the two down with his bare hands. It amazed Aya to see how graceful fighting looked when Mori was the one performing it— not to mention how effortless he made it seem.
"Senpai," Aya whispered, her eyes wide with shock. This was the first time she'd seen him excel in his martial arts. She knew he was quite skilled in kendo but assumed he was well trained in other forms as well.
"T- This kid is crazy!" the brunette guy yelled as he got up. His nose was bleeding from hitting the ground face-forward.
"Let's get out of here!" yelled the blonde as he cowardly scurried away. The brunette followed suit. "Damn rich kids!"
"Are you alright?" Mori asked, his voice low and stagnant as usual. His hands were shoved into his pockets, as if what he had just pulled off was no big feat.
"I'm fine," Aya admitted, her hands and voice a bit shaky. "I'm just lucky that you were in the area, senpai. Or else, I..." Aya drifted off, not even wanting to think about what would have happened if Mori had not come to save her.
"I saw you running out of the school so I had my driver follow to make sure you were okay," he said. "And I'm glad that I did." Aya could have sworn that she saw him heave a small sigh of relief. "You know, you get into an awful lot of trouble. First, those girls from school. Now, this."
"I- I'm sorry," Aya bit her bottom lip. Hearing how helpless she was hurt a bit, especially coming from Mori-senpai, whom she looked up to so much. The last thing she wanted was for him to think that she was a burden. She felt hot tears beginning to form in her eyes and hated herself even more for wanting to cry— He already thought she was a bother and now she would look even more like a helpless child in his eyes. She bowed her head down low to hide her face with her dark hair. Being scolded from a person who barely spoke in the first place felt like a hurtful slap to the face. These weren't the kinds of words she wanted to hear coming from Mori.
Then, suddenly, she felt a large, warm hand caressing her cheek. The hand lifted her face and she found herself staring into the dark, mysterious eyes of Mori-senpai. She felt her face instantly shoot up in temperature as a lone tear escaped her eye, grazing along the palm of Mori's hand.
"If it's you I had to protect, I wouldn't mind it," he stated, staring into her watery eyes. He was extremely close to her and she could feel his breath on her skin. She felt suffocated by how intimate he was and could feel herself drowning in his dark grey orbs.
"S- Senpai?" she managed to blurt out after a few moments. Was she hearing things correctly? This was the second time today that she questioned what she was hearing. She didn't know how to react— she didn't even know if forming coherent sentences was in her capabilities right now. Her mind was in a haze and she swore her heart was beating so fast that Mori would be able to hear it.
"I didn't like hearing about Otohata back in the Host Club," he said lowly, still caressing her face and examining her expression. His face was serious and his brows furrowed just a bit. She smelled the faint scent of a cedar forest that clung onto his skin. "And I hate how late I was in realizing it but, I like you, Hoshino."
"W- What?" she gulped. He was surprisingly straightforward with his feelings and it caught her off-guard. But then again, she couldn't imagine a guy as serious as Mori-senpai beating around the bush or playing useless mind games, either. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. Just earlier today, Rei was asking her to be his girlfriend. Next thing she knew, Mori-senpai was confessing to her! She was beginning to wonder if this was all a messed up scheme that rich people did to poke fun at the "commoners." She didn't know how much more of this her poor little self could take all in one day.
"I don't want to put pressure on you but I'm going to be honest," he said, brushing aside a lock of hair from her face, making Aya blush even deeper (if that were even attainable). "It would be nice if you chose me."
Aya stared in shock at Mori, who was merely centimeters away from her.
Was this truly happening to her? She continued to stare in disbelief.
A few months ago, a simple girl named Hoshino Aya transferred into Ouran Academy. Never would she figure that she'd end up here, at this moment, having the prestigious high school's two most mysterious, misunderstood, and feared guys confessing to her all on the same day.
First, there was Otohata Rei— the secretly talented boy who half the school loved (mainly the female students) and half the school feared, due to his cold looks and icy demeanor. Aya had grown to be friends with Rei over the past two months and discovered he was not unapproachable, bitter, and distant like the rumors said. He merely felt detached from Ouran's usual materialistic ways and longed for a life outside of the upper society that he was born into. He was a dreamer and Aya adored that about him.
Then, there was Morinozuka Takashi— the "wild" or "strong and silent" type, according to the Host Club's categorization. He barely spoke to Aya but when he did, it was always out of concern for her. Since day one, she felt as if there was more to him than meets the eye. He was like a strong, silent protector— a guardian, if you will. Being around him made Aya feel intimidated, only because she admired and looked up to him so much. He, too, was feared by more than half of the school but for different reasons; he was well respected for his martial arts and for his loyalty to his friends.
In a way, both of these boys were similar yet different all at once. Either way, no matter how she looked at it, Aya knew she was in a predicament. Not because she knew she would have to choose but because she knew that deep in her heart, she cared for both of these people. Never in a million years did she imagine herself getting into a dilemma like this.
And how she was going to tackle this unsuspected situation, Aya hadn't the slightest clue.
The Space Between Two Worlds
Chapter VIII — A Torn Heart
End.
Siopao: I think I have an idea of how this story will play out but I'd still love to hear your opinions! So please leave them in a review! Also, I love Mori-senpai so much. He's like my dream guy, hahaha. I feel like he would be well paired with a girl like Aya— studious, hardworking, shy but self-righteous, not materialistic or spoiled... all of that! Also, I felt like it's in Mori's personality to be straightforward (almost in a blunt sort of way lol) with the girl he likes! Like he's slow to realize what he's feeling but once he does finally catch on, he would just tell her right away. Don't you think so? I dunno, that trait just seems to suit him! Please let me know what you think!
